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| Bouley's front door, currently hidden behind construction scaffolds |
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| Fresh apples line the wall, perfuming the entrance |
From the front door you enter a vestibule of shelves upon shelves of fresh apples. Perfuming the air transporting you to a fresh countryside orchard. To the left a waiting room with the hostess stand up front. A waiting room comprised of plush couches and chairs, floor to ceiling windows and artwork, exquisite chandeliers, and hardwood floors. Before even entering the dining room you realize Bouley is a labor of obsessive love and care for guests. This is not the waiting area comprised of a thin banquette set against the wall at your local Applebees.
The large, romantic, dining room evokes the feeling of the French countryside. Large Monet paintings, wrapped in velvet no-less, of orchards and wineries hang on the walls. Fresh flowers sit atop every table that are dressed with rich, thick tablecloths. Deep banquettes line the walls with plush pillows to cushion your back and to keep you from falling backwards. A vaulted ceiling is brushed with gold leaf. A fireplace and a library are tucked away in a darker, more seclusive secondary dining room towards the back of the room.
The elegance continues downstairs, where a trip to the restrooms will have you walking through a long chamber that showcases a wine room, another beautifully set waiting area, and one of the best looking private dining rooms I have ever seen. Here, the gold leaf brushed ceiling is set against magenta walls and chairs, with two large Persian rugs lining the floors. It doesn't stop here, when you finally reach the restrooms all you need to do is look up, and you realize even the bathroom walls are upholstered.
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| The long corridor leading to the restooms in the basement |
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| Bouley's private dining room |
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| The wine room can be seen through windows of the corridor |
Before talking about the great experience I had, I do want to tell all of you of the incredible lunch deal that brought me into Bouley in the first place. At any given time at a four-star restaurant like Jean-Georges, Per Se, or Eleven Madison Park, it's almost expected that a decent meal for lunch or dinner will break your wallet. Bouley, even though three-stars, has about as much elegance in its food and decor to match the four-star powerhouses in NY. The difference? Bouley offers a five-course tasting at lunch, set at only $55.
When I first arrived for my 12pm reservation my hopes were up. My senses heightened by the scent of fresh apples, my eyes widened by the beautiful decor, my muscles relaxed from the comfortable booths. A lovely greeting by the hostess brought me into an empty dining room, though. At the time it was just me and one other diner, a young Asian woman traveling from China who was here in NY to eat her way around the best restaurants. How do I know that? The dining room was so quiet we could hear each other's conversations clearly as we talked to the servers. Although the dining room eventually filled up around 2pm, it left for some humorous and uncomfortable moments through the course of the meal.
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| Tomato-Coulis with Ricotta, Cracker with Aligot, both with Black Truffle |
The kitchen welcomes you with two canapes. The first being a chilled tomato coulis, with house-made ricotta, black truffle pate, and raspberry vinegar. A touch of salt could have helped it, this was a very refreshing palate-cleanser to start the meal. "I usually hate tomatoes, and I definitely hate cold soups, but this was SO good!", I overheard my fellow diner say. A house-made cracker with aligot (a French term meaning potato and cheese puree), and black truffle pate complements the soup. In this case potato puree is whisked with creme fraiche and Landaff cheese to create a very silky potato puree that packs a lot of flavor. "Did he just say 'laundry cheese??'", an older woman eventually sitting on a table next to me commented. That one made me giggle. As Dani, the Chinese tourist, bit into hers, I could hear the crunch of her eating the chip all the way from my table. How embarassing, as I noticed she looked up from her table as it came time for mine as well.
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| Carpacchio of tuna and kampachi, taken from Yelp.com |
You can then build your tasting menu as you wish, as each of the five courses has three-to-four choices you can choose from. My next course was a carpaccio of kampachi, big-eye tuna, and striped amber jack. The presentation was so beautiful that I forgot to take a picture. As the runner places the dish in front of you, my server was quick to reach over and set the plate as it was deigned to reach you. "On the top we have a cube of bigeye tuna, garnished with a pine nut and black truffle puree. Underneath in the middle is a slice of kampachi. Two slices of bluefin tuna are set on the side. The fish is done in a Mediterranean manner. It is garnished with a housemade lemon oil and lemon juice." Yea...that's great and all. But where's the striped amber jack you promised on the menu?? Nonetheless, fresh fish and clean flavors made for an enjoyable first course.
As you're waiting for your second course a bread cart is rolled around. When you first sit down two types of bread are given to you. An apple-raisin roll, and a flax seed bread. The bread cart holds eight more selections, and your server will slice as many slices from them as you wish. As he made his way through the selections I opted for the fig bread, and olive bread. Both breads tasted great, but the butter on the table was a dissapointment. A large portion set inside a small silver pot, it wasn't anywhere close to room temperature. Some muscle was needed to spread it upon the wonderful bread choices.
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| The two servers with Bouley's bread cart |
I also noticed Dani was two courses into her tasting at this point, but we were both met with the bread cart at different times of the meal. As I received a visit after my first course, she got hers after her second. A mistake many people may not notice, but at this level when a restaurant is striving for a fourth star, is a very obvious mistake. As I overheard the server go through the choices with her one more time, she went for the apricot and walnut bread. As the server cut into it "Oh. This is actually not apricot and walnut. It's raisin and walnut. Sometimes they change it in the kitchen and don't tell us." Thus starts the service and kitchen wars. Umm...not a good save.
"Thank you for confirming your reservation. Just a reminder we ask men in our dining room to wear jackets." "That won't be a problem." Now a lot of people may think I'm nitpicking the service at this point but I will justify it by saying this. If you're going to require a lot from your customers and ask them to wear a jacket during dining (something that is very rarely seen in NYC now), then I am going to require a lot from you, including a flawless service. That includes commenting on every mistake you make. You want me to look my best? You better be doing your best as well.
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| Porcini and Crab Flan, with Black Truffle Dashi |
The next course I decided on was a porcini flan with crab. The flan is done in the style of chawan-mushi, a Japanese egg custard. Fresh crab, porcini mushrooms, and a black truffle (black truffle again?) dashi garnish this dish. It is fitting for Bouley's dining room as David Bouley is obsessed with Japanese food, as is seen by the opening of his Japanese restaurant Brushstroke right down the street. The flan arrives covered in a coppered pot, and you're asked to lift the cover yourself to achieve the full aromatic effect. I guess someone must have nudged it on its way to me because I didn't receive the smallest amount of smoke billowing upwards.
Although this dish had good flavor, I was very upset with the texture. A flan, and a chawan-mushi for that matter, is supposed to be set. This was more like a black truffle and crab soup. I was debating whether or not to call my server over to ask if it was made correctly, but after taking one bite and removing the small bit of shell from my mouth and setting it on the side of the plate for him to see, I figured that would be embarrassing enough.
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| Black Cod with Heirlooms and Raspberry Vinegar |
The kitchen then decided to add on an extra course to Dani and I's tasting. What arrived was a small piece of black cod with miso marinade, flax seed, heirloom tomatoes, and raspberry vinegar. When it comes to presentation it can't be any more sexier than this. The fish was fatty and full of flavor, and the tomatoes and raspberry flavors fully complemented it and made for some refreshing bites. Dani was eating hers slow, though, and the server seemed confused when asked to clear it early. She played it off nicely saying she doesn't want to get too full, but they all missed the obvious connection. She said she hated tomatoes and cold soups, why are you making her eat them again? Even I picked up on that one, and I'm sitting across the room.
The next course, my entree, made me forget all mistakes I have witnessed up until this point. Braised kobe beef cheeks were incredibly tender, and set atop blue kale and black truffle (what a surprise) gnocchi. This dish was so rich and had so much incredible flavor. The kitchen served it with silky potato puree and a frisee salad with avocado (or at least avocado was mentioned by the server, turns out it was tomato). The potato puree was somewhat of a letdown, as it was another component to the meal that I thought needed salt. But after seeing the older clientele that has walked in since my reservation, it is fully understandable that they do not season items strongly with salt here.
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| Braised Kobe Beef Cheeks with Blue Kale and Black Truffle Gnocchi |
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| Potato Puree and Frisee Salad |
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| Blackberry Granite, Blueberry and Toasted Bulgar Wheat Sorbets |
After my table was crumbed twice by different people, a dessert amuse is brought and is the only course you don't have a choice for, The portion given to you is the same as any regular dessert portion in any other restaurant in Manhattan. Blackberry granite holds two more silky sorbets of blueberry, and toasted bulgar wheat. Yes, you read that correctly. Toasted bulgar wheat sorbet. Needless to say, it wasn't one of my favorites, and definitely contrasted the other flavors. The blueberry and blackberry, however, stood very well on their own.
I opted for the cheese course as my last option. Different award-winning cheeses (I couldn't remember all of them) are presented beautifully with raisin puree. The cheese with the most striking presentation in the middle is called Tete de Moine. It is translated as "Monk's head", and is a Swiss cow's milk cheese that was first created by monks. It is sharp and nutty in flavor. A special type of knife called a Girolle is used to create the shaved cones of this cheese. The other five cheeses, ranging from brie to blue, all made for an incredible last course. This course alone is worth $55 at any fine establishment. My check was only raised by the $22 glass of aromatic Madeira I chose to match with this course.
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| Selection of award-winning Cheeses with Raisin Puree |
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| Bread served with Cheese Course |
Bouley will not let you leave thinking it is all over at that moment. An assortment of petit-fours, macaroons, truffles, and chips, are brought out on a three-tier service piece. You are asked if you'd like to finish the meal with coffee or tea. Sit back and relax as you finish the amazing meal on a very high note.
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| Three Tiers of Petit Fours |
David Bouley's flagship restaurant has been around since 1987, taking leave for a few years and re-opening in 2009 in its current destination. If you are looking for an old-school New York type of experience, where knowledgeable servers will pamper you left and right, make a reservation at Bouley. Although the service is noticeably not flawless, the food and decor make up for it, and the $55 lunch deal can not be beat. I will definitely return sometime in the near future.
Bouley
163 Duane Street
New York, NY 10013
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